Afghan blast kills six soldiers

Afghan blast kills six soldiers

Afghan blast kills six soldiers

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Six soldiers are missing, believed killed, in Afghanistan, the MoD said

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Five soldiers from the 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment are missing believed killed

Six soldiers are missing, believed killed, in Afghanistan, the MoD said

Six soldiers have died in the single worst enemy attack on British troops of the Afghan campaign.

The servicemen were on patrol when their Warrior Armoured Fighting Vehicle was caught in an explosion in Helmand.

It takes the total number of British forces killed on operation to more than 400 since the US-led invasion in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Prime Minister David Cameron said the news marked a "desperately sad day for our country".

The servicemen, five from the 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment and one from the 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, were struck around 40km north of Lashkar Gah. Next of kin have been informed.

Mr Cameron said: "This is a desperately sad day for our country and desperately sad of course for the families concerned. It is a reminder of the huge price that we are paying for the work we are doing in Afghanistan and the sacrifice that our troops have made and continue to make."

Labour leader Ed Miliband echoed his remarks, adding: "This is a dark day. We salute all of our fallen and those who continue to serve in the face of the gravest danger."

Moving scenes played out at Battlesbury Barracks in Warminster, Wiltshire, the home of 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, where the dark green battalion flag emblazoned with a gold lion and white rose flew at half-mast.

Two uniformed soldiers relit a candle next to the barracks' gates, which was put in place when around 90 soldiers from the Corunna Company were deployed less than a month ago.

Beneath it, text read: "This flame serves to remind us of the commitment that the soldiers of this battalion are currently making on operations. It will be extinguished when the last soldier of the battalion returns safely to this base."